With lettuce, tomato, cooked chicken, crispy bacon, tender pasta, gorgonzola cheese, and a flavor-packed creamy vinaigrette, this easy copycat Portillo's chopped salad will become a summer favorite at your house!
If you're not familiar with Portillo's, it's a Chicago institution like Anchor Bar in Buffalo or Starbucks in Seattle. Portillo's is a "fast casual" restaurant that serves classic Chicago style food, such as Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago dogs.
They have a variety of side dishes available, including the usual suspects like fries and onion rings. There are also a few soups and salads, including a pretty fabulous chopped salad with a cult-like following!
With a combination of chicken, bacon, and pasta, this filling salad works well as a side dish or full meal. And it's a great summertime option to bring to a BBQ, potluck, or picnic. Everyone loves it, and you can easily make a double batch to feed a crowd!
What's in Portillo's Chopped Salad?
This is what Portillo's says about their chopped salad:
A fan favorite, the Chopped salad is a perfect mix of flavor and crunch, packed with romaine and iceberg lettuce mix, ditalini pasta, diced chicken, crispy bacon, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, green onion, red cabbage and tossed with our famous, homemade House dressing.
Portillo's
Easy 30 Minute Copycat Portillo's Chopped Salad Recipe
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas. For the full recipe (including ingredient amounts), please see the recipe card below.
Portillo's Chopped Salad Dressing Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil – or light olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil
- Mayo – for creamy, rich flavor and texture; I love using mayo because it’s something I always have on hand in my fridge, however, you can substitute with plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- White wine vinegar – adds a tangy flavor and helps create balance
- Finely-grated parmesan cheese – for best flavor, use freshly-grated parmesan (although the powdered stuff will work in a pinch)
- Sugar – use regular granulated white sugar; this is to add sweetness and balance the flavor profile; if you prefer a natural sweetener, you can use 2 teaspoons of honey instead of 1 tablespoon sugar
- Dried Italian herb seasoning – adds herby depth of flavor
- Salt and black pepper – to season our creamy dressing
- Garlic – use a small clove of fresh garlic; this is the secret ingredient that takes this quick and easy dressing over the top
Portillo's Chopped Salad Ingredients
- Ditalini pasta - ditalini pasta works well here because of its small size; however, you can use any small shape of pasta you like, such as elbow, bow tie, etc.
- Beef bacon - or you can use any type of bacon you like
- Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and red cabbage - these leafy veggies are classic components in Portillo's chopped salad
- Scallion - for mild onion flavor
- Cherry tomatoes - or you can use regular tomatoes and chop them into bite-sized pieces
- Cooked chopped chicken - you can use poached chicken, rotisserie chicken, or whatever you have on hand
- Gorgonzola cheese - or crumbled blue cheese
How to Make Portillo's Chopped Salad
Make Ahead and Storage
You can store this dressing in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give it a vigorous shake or a stir before using.
You can prep this salad up to 3 days ahead of time. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge and then assemble the salad right before serving.
Portillo's Chopped Salad FAQs
What is Chopped Salad vs Regular Salad?
In a chopped salad, the vegetables and other components are chopped small about the same size. Chopped salads are easy to eat because as we all know, salads with leafy greens can be hard to get on the fork, lol!
To keep everything about the same size, ditalini pasta works well for this chopped salad.
How Many Calories Are in Portillo's Chopped Salad?
According to Portillo's, their chopped salad has 800 calories.
However, if you make this copycat version at home, each serving only has 447 calories.
How Can I Make Portillo's Chopped Salad Gluten Free?
For the gluten free version of this classic chopped salad, simply use gluten free pasta. If you can't find gluten free ditalini, you can use any small shape of gluten free pasta you like.
Another way to make this salad gluten free is to simply omit the pasta! If you want to cut the carbs and make a healthy version of Portillo's chopped salad, this is the best way to go.
Additionally, if you want to lower the carbs as much as possible, use a sugar-free sweetener instead of the sugar in the dressing (such as stevia or monkfruit). If you omit the pasta in the salad and use a sugar-free sweetener in the dressing, this salad is low carb.
More Satisfying Salad Recipes to Make
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Copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or light olive oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons mayo
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup finely-grated parmesan cheese you can use the powdered stuff in a pinch
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small clove garlic grated or crushed
Salad:
- 1 cup ditalini pasta cooked according to the package directions, rinsed, drained, and cooled
- 8 ounces beef bacon cooked until crispy, cooled, and chopped (or any type of bacon you like)
- 3 cups finely chopped Romaine lettuce
- 3 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
- 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1 cup thinly sliced scallion green and white parts
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken you can use poached chicken, rotisserie chicken, or whatever you have on hand
- ¼ cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
For the Dressing:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. (If you want it super smooth, puree it in a blender or food processor.)
For the Salad:
- Arrange all ingredients in a salad serving bowl.
- Toss the salad with the dressing and serve immediately.
Faith's Tips
- Recipe Yield: This recipe serves 8 as a side dish, or 4 as a main course.
- Dressing Storage: Store this dressing in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give it a vigorous shake or a stir before using.
- Make Ahead: You can prep this salad up to 3 days ahead of time. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge and then assemble the salad right before serving.
Nutrition
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